1. Field of Invention
The present disclosure relates generally to the field of garment hangers as are widely used for the purpose of packaging, shipping and displaying garments, and more particularly to a combination of a plastic molded garment hanger and a reusable lower neck indicator capable of being removably attached to the hanger at a lower neck region thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
In the area of retail garment sales, so-called Garment-On-Hanger (GOH) programs have become preferred by retailers. In a GOH program, garments are delivered to retail merchants already suspended from hangers, where upon arrival at the retail location the garments are immediately placed on display for sale.
In particular, retailers have specified particular hangers or hanger characteristics among suppliers in order to achieve uniformity on their sales floors. To this end, standards as to hanger size, shape, performance characteristics, etc., are maintained, for example, by organizations such as the Voluntary Inter-industry Commerce Standards Association (VICS). Intimate apparel hangers, pinch grip hangers, top garment hangers and so on are among the standardized hangers under the VICS standards.
Additionally, and interrelated to the promulgation of GOH programs, retailers and their customers desire to have the hanger itself display some indicia regarding the item carried upon it. Categories of indicia include origin of manufacturer, materials of the garments and prices of the garments, but mostly the sizes of garments. Among the various means developed for accomplishing this, so-called lower neck indicators are widely applied and recognized in the industry. Lower neck indicators are secured to the hanger at or adjacent the intersection of the hook and the hanger body, to provide a displaying surface on which garment sizes are printed.
Normally, the lower neck indicators are secured to the hangers, either manually or automatically, at the manufacturers' cost. Thus, it is desirable in the industry to easily and quickly attach the indicators to the hangers. Accordingly, assembling efficiency can be improved and manufacturing cost of the hangers and the indicators can be reduced, which in turn offers a significant commercial advantage to the manufacturers, transporters, as well as retailers in the industry.
Furthermore, it is desirable in the industry to securely attach the indicators to the hangers. The reliable affixation of the indicators to the hangers in the GOH program prevents the indicators from accidentally and unintentionally detaching from the hangers. Specifically, under industry standards, such as the VICS, it is required to maintain a certain degree of affixation of the indicator to the hanger to avoid young children from swallowing an indicator after the indicator is accidentally detached from a hanger, so as to provide so-called “child proof” hangers.
At the same time, it is also desirable to allow the indicators to be removed by a user from the hangers through simple operations. Thus, the hangers and indicators can be sorted and reused according an indicator-reuse methodology, which is described in co-owned U.S. Pat. No. 6,523,240, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein for all purposes. With the continuing consumption of the natural resources, it is popular and necessary in the manufacturing industry to optimize the product design to save materials and energy and concomitantly reduce the manufacturing and transportation costs, without compromising performance. The resultant product under such a material and energy saving concept is recognized as an environmentally friendly product, and is much more market competitive than its prior art counterpart. In the hanger molding industry, millions of plastic hangers and indicators are manufactured each year. Normally, the indicators are made of a material different from that of the hangers, which provides the indicators a relatively longer useful life. The removable characteristics of indicators would allow millions of indicators to be collected and reused. Thus, in view of the significant manufacture volume, reusable hangers and indicators are environmentally friendly and provide a commercial advantage to the manufacturer, transporter and retailer in the industry.
Accordingly, there is a need in the industry for improved garment hanger and indicator, which enable easy, quick and secure attachment of the indicator to the hanger while still maintaining the reusable characteristics of the indicator so as to provide an environmental friendly product.